


The What, When, Where And How

by intoapuddle



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 00:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intoapuddle/pseuds/intoapuddle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted by tumblr user pavarottisklaine: “i was wondering if I could prompt you? well here it is: darren’s new/old song ‘I Don’t Mind’ is indeed about Chris. Chris’ reaction to it? xx”</p><p>PG-13 Chris/Darren fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The What, When, Where And How

**OMG you gotta listen to this song**

It was a text message from Ashley with a youtube link attached to it. Chris was running low on energy, sitting in his apartment with a word document open on the laptop in front of him. He was just about to crash from a caffeinated fifteen page writing spree, so the distraction was practically God sent. He opened the link on his phone and sat back on the couch.

The first thing he noticed, as the video loaded, was that it was from Darren’s latest concert. It was a song supposedly titled ‘I Don’t Care’ and he’d played it in Nashville. That was just a couple of nights ago. Chris had no idea what Ashley was doing looking up videos from Darren’s concerts when they were going to see him themselves in just a couple of weeks, but the title did interest him. After being a part of Darren’s repeating the set list and practicing songs for the last few weeks before he went on tour, he was surprised to see a title he didn’t recognize.

The video finished loading, and the song started out immediately. The crowd was silent, and Darren was looking at the lyrics on a phone balanced on his knee.

_Baby I don’t care, what, when, how or where?_   
_Folks may try to laugh and make a fuss,_   
_They’ll try to make shit hard for us but,_   
_Darling I don’t care._

Chris recognized the melody. He recognized the sound of the song. He recognized the way Darren’s voice enveloped the words and carried the melody. He thought back as he watched the video, heart beating with a strange sense of being spoken to directly.

~* ~

About five months earlier, Darren had been sitting on Chris’s bed with a guitar in his lap.

Chris was by his desk with a laptop. He was searching for a good download for the second season of Game of Thrones while Darren played on his guitar in the background. From what Chris registered, Darren was melding a bunch of covers into one another. Chris had gotten so used to hearing Darren play that he’d learned how to block it out. It wasn’t that Darren’s playing was bad, but it got to a point when hanging around musically capable people that insisted on using that capability as much as they could wore Chris out, and that went for any of his Glee friends. So when they were like this, even casually hanging out, Chris had a tendency to barely listen to Darren’s music.

“I don’t get it,” Chris said after a few minutes of clicking around. “I can’t find any good downloads.”

“Let’s just Hulu it,” Darren suggested, still playing something on his guitar.

“I hate the commercials,” Chris groaned, looking back at him.

“We don’t have to watch it today,” Darren said with a shrug. “We don’t need to watch anything. We could just entertain each other.”

Chris grinned at the obvious insinuation, and Darren smirked back. But just when Chris was about to get out of his seat to  _really_ entertain his boyfriend, Darren started playing something else on his guitar. Chris stopped and this time he listened. He listened, because he didn’t recognize the song at all.

Darren usually kept to playing the most prominent parts of his rather impressive repertoire, so hearing something new caught Chris off guard. He watched Darren’s fingers fiddle over the strings and a playful country style plucking filled the silence of the room. When Darren hummed the melody, though, it turned from playfulness to sincerity. There were no words, just shy humming replacing something that should be there.

“Is that yours?” Chris asked after a minute or two.

Darren looked up with a small jolt, as if he’d forgotten Chris was there. He stopped playing.

“Uh, yeah,” he said.

“I like it,” Chris commented. Darren started playing it softly again. “It’s… calming. Your voice fits to it.”

Darren mouth opened as he smiled, eyes crinkling. If he had a tail it would probably be wagging all over the place.

“I’ve been working on it for years,” Darren said, refraining from gushing at being praised. He looked down on his guitar. “I worked out the guitar part and melody in like two days, but… I’ve tried like six variations of lyrics and none of them really fit.”

“Really?” Chris asked. “Six?”

Darren nodded. “Yeah. I even played a couple of them at Maggiano’s.”

“I didn’t take you for being such a perfectionist,” Chris said, tilting his head.

Darren let out an amused huff. “Um, ouch.”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Chris said with a chuckle. “Going with your gut usually works out pretty well for you.”

“Nu-uh, my feelings are hurt,” Darren frowned, but Chris just laughed. “By the way, I thought you hated country.”

“Hate is a strong word,” Chris said automatically. “And this isn’t even really country. It’s just… you.”

Darren didn’t have a response for that. He just looked at Chris with wonder. Chris took advantage of the moment and stood up from his office chair, sitting himself down on the bed next to Darren. Darren shifted and made room for him so they could sit closer, but it got awkward with the guitar. By the end of their little dance he just put it away, extended his arm, and let Chris cuddle into his side, legs draped over his lap.

Chris tucked his face into the crook of Darren’s neck, and Darren fit his chin on top of Chris’s head.

“So you don’t like country, but you like me,” Darren said.

“Mhm,” Chris agreed.

“I think that proves that you’re biased,” Darren teased.

Chris huffed a laugh and pulled back to look at Darren.

“Does it matter?” he asked.

Darren’s smile widened a little bit and his eyes kind of looked without seeing, internalizing something for a split second, before returning to stare into Chris’s eyes.

“I guess I’ll just have to find a way to justify your opinion,” Darren said then.

Chris’s brows furrowed with confusion, but Darren seemed sure of himself. Chris nodded slowly.

“Right,” he said, but was silenced by Darren’s lips on his.

Chris smiled his surprise, and slid a hand up to cup the back of Darren’s neck, keeping him close. By the time Darren’s hand slipped beneath the fabric of Chris’s shirt their conversation had been long forgotten.

~*~

It was that song. That song that Chris had developed a soft spot for from the moment he first heard it. Darren had kept playing it to Chris when they were alone, wordless but still so good, like it was theirs. Chris found himself humming the melody at times. And now Darren was playing it for all these people, with all these words Chris had never gotten to hear.

_Darling I don’t mind, what they think they’ll find,_   
_‘Cause all the secrets they have told_   
_at least I’ve still got you to hold_   
_So, darling I don’t mind._   
  
_‘Cause I’ll be the one to hold you, when the nights are cold,_   
_And although I know I’ve told you,_   
_I will tell you forevermore_

~*~

In Darren’s opinion, when two people have a deep connection to one another it doesn’t matter what, who, or where they are. If they’re meant to be, they just  _know_  and that’s enough. That’s always enough.

Part of what made Chris so drawn to Darren was because of that constant reassurance. They were who they were to each other, and that was that. No need to question it. It had shocked Chris at first, how his heart ached and fluttered just from Darren being present in the same room. The feelings were so many and so deep that he had had no expectations of Darren feeling the same way, but it became evident within the first months of them working together that he did. He wasn’t as hesitant about it as Chris, though, and that was a good thing.

They started acting on it sometime during the Glee live tour. They shared hotel rooms and spent most every moment off stage together. Their romantic relationship really developed when they were on the road. Their co-workers noticed, and they loved seeing them together. Both Chris and Darren were dead-set on keeping their love lives private, though, so they kept it a secret. They told their closest friends and family, but they never made an official, public announcement.

Chris would be lying if he said it didn’t get hard sometimes, though. Darren was a big part of his life. Darren was a big part of who he, himself, was now. And whenever it got most hard, when Chris just wanted to be able to tell people that Darren was his and not up for the taking, when he didn’t want to have to be scared shitless as soon as an interviewer hinted at his love life or relationships, Darren had a mantra.

“I don’t care,” Darren always said. “As long as we’re together, that other stuff doesn’t matter.”

And one night in particular, a month before Darren was going to leave for his tour, had been hard. The speculations about Chris’s love life took up so much space on the internet that Chris didn’t even want to look at any of the social medias he was a part of. If he collected all of the comments of people thinking they knew something regarding his personal life they could easily become a Lord of The Rings-sized trilogy.

But Darren was there, above him, pressing kisses over his skin and breathing reassurances. It was just a distraction for now, but a very welcome one. Being held down by Darren and going along with it when he told him he’d take care of him, that he was there, that he’d make Chris feel so good. Chris was grateful to get to just feel for a few moments. He was sick of thinking.

To be kissed anywhere he wanted, to thread his fingers through the texture of Darren’s hair for him to stay put, to pull Darren to his mouth for lustful kisses… It was relief. It reminded him of who they were, and why being as delicate about their relationship as possible was so important.

“I don’t give a damn anymore,” Chris finally said after Darren pulled back from another kiss. “They can… speculate all they want. I don’t care.”

“Oh?” Darren said. “What brought on that conclusion?”

“Your dick,” Chris smirked.

Darren laughed. Chris rolled them over so he was on top, and pressed deliberately slow kisses to Darren’s parted lips.

“You don’t have to worry,” Darren said seriously, opening his eyes. “We’re a romance for the ages. It’s worth it.”

Chris smiled into the next kiss, despite of himself. His worries regarding fan speculation and tabloids shrunk into nothing when they were like this, because Darren made everything sound so easy. He never got angry. Chris had a tendency to complicate things: He was a writer. His mind went there on its own and made up scenarios that sometimes made him worry even more. Darren had a way of unfolding all of those bundled up thoughts with just the sound of his voice, or the gentle press of his lips. It took away everything else. And when Chris listened, really listened to what Darren said, he knew he was right.

~*~

_I don’t give a damn, if they can’t understand,_   
_Of all the things that we have learned they’re nothing far as I’m concerned so,_   
_I don’t give a damn._   
  
_‘Cause I’ll be the one to hold you, when the nights are cold,_   
_And I know I know I’ve told you,_   
_I will tell you forevermore_

Chris was a sniffling mess. His heart was beating with… something. Something that he’d locked inside and tried not to feel to keep from missing Darren too much. His head was starting to spin a little bit. This was really not a good time to be listening to this. He was drained from having written so much in one go. It made him feel over-emotional and needy. He ached for Darren. And as he re-watched the video again and again, it became so clear that it was aimed directly at him.

Every last word, every last smile, every last furrow of brows and held note. It was all for Chris. Chris couldn’t even question it. This was a song that Darren had been carrying for  _years_ , not knowing what to do with it and never being fully satisfied. Chris knew he wouldn’t have played it on his sold out tour unless he was satisfied with it. And there he was, serenading him, and… The tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, to roll hotly down Chris’s cheeks as he pressed play yet another time.

Chris had no idea which time zone Darren was in at the moment – it was in the middle of the night for Chris and he was physically exhausted – but he need to hear Darren’s voice. Thankfully, Darren picked up the phone after just a couple rings.

“Chris?” was the first thing Darren said, sounding rushed and out of breath.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something but,” Chris ushered out. His voice sounded a lot more wobbly and vulnerable than he’d intended it to. “I just… I heard the song.”

Darren said nothing at first. Then he exhaled.

“The song.”

Darren knew exactly what he was talking about, and Chris let out a wet chuckle.

“I—,” Chris started.

“God, I should’ve told you about it,” Darren said, and he sounded genuinely apologetic. He was speaking quieter now, talking just to Chris and not letting his surroundings get in the way of it. “I was going to, but I’ve been busy with the Tony’s… I-I should’ve played it for you when I wrote it, but…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Chris said. “It’s… It’s beautiful, Darren.”

Silence.

“It was for you,” Darren supplied.

Chris could feel a fresh load of tears well up in his eyes. That was so Darren. Simplicity. He just did it, all for Chris, without a second thought.

And Chris’s thoughts unravelled, like they did when Darren remained so calm and grounded.

“I know,” Chris sniffled., trying and failing at keeping his voice steady. “Thank you.”

“Are you crying?” Darren asked, and his voice pitched higher at the end as if he was about to start, too.

“A little bit,” Chris confessed. “Getting serenaded is not an everyday event for me.”

“I wanted to,” Darren said, swallowing the emotions filling his chest. “I wish you had been there. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” Chris said.

They were silent for a moment, and Chris’s tears ran dry. He could breathe easier now that he knew that Darren knew that he’d heard. That he had listened.

“I have to go,” Darren said, sounding strained. “We’re about to set everything up here, and I really have to… help out.”

“Yeah, okay,” Chris said. “You go do your stuff. I’m gonna… Sleep.”

“Oh, fuck, it must be really late at home,” Darren said with a slightly incredulous laugh.

“Yeah,” Chris smiled. “I stayed up writing and then Ashley sent me this link…”

“Go to sleep,” Darren said, and Chris felt fully embraced by his voice. Filled up by it. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Good night, Chris.”

“Good night, Darren,” Chris murmured. “Good luck with the gig.”

“Thank you,” Darren said. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Before Chris went to sleep that night, he played the song on his phone a couple more times. Then a third. During the fifth time he was clutching his phone in his hand as he lied comfortable under the covers, resting his head on a pillow that smelled like Darren. Going to sleep alone was so much easier with Darren’s song right next to his ear, Darren’s song that was just for Chris.

_Babe it ain’t no thing, that viper venom sting,_   
_‘Cause even if it got your goat and I’d kiss you with the antidote so,_   
_Babe it ain’t no thing,_   
  
_Darling I don’t care,_   
_Baby, I don’t,_   
_Baby I don’t mind._


End file.
